The Changing Face of Education: Victor Rosilez

Throughout history it has been common for many to follow in the footsteps of their
parents in terms of education and or employment. However, gone are the days where one could
solely count on the skill or trade that their parents undertook to provide for them. In fact, it has
been speculated that young adults entering the workforce will change careers or occupations an
astounding six times throughout the course of their working years (Rivzi, 2005). At the
forefront of this scenario is the emergence of a globalized economy that is changing not only the
face of employment as we know it, but is directly influencing the direction our educational
system is heading in order to accommodate the rapidly changing economical climate. But, is it
prudent for the educational system to abandon trusted methodologies in pursuit of filling this
economic goal or should education focus in on incorporating the necessary tools to allow for
change while maintaining their own identities?
Before tackling the influence of globalization on education, it is necessary to understand
what globalization is and what is providing for its push on our educational system. Globalization
can be seen as a multifaceted ideal consisting of six strands as defined by Cohen and Kennedy
(2000):
Changing concepts of space and time(shrinking)
Increasing numbers of cultural interactions
The commonality of problems facing everyone
Increasing interdependencies and connections
The development of transnational actors and other organizations
The synchronization of these elements concerning globalization
Of importance, however, is the leading role that transnational corporations, multinational
corporations, governmental and nongovernmental organizations are playing in the current
economical development and its posture in defining the current push in education.
When one first envisions globalization and its affects on education, it is common for most
Americans and educators to frame it in light of freedom of thoughts, ideas, and acquired
knowledge that allow students to look beyond the defined local and national boundaries. In
addition, American culture is typically used as the benchmark in comparing other countries
cultures, similarities, and differences in an attempt to gain an understanding of the world around
us (Pike, 2000). Furthermore, since education has been typically viewed as an available tool for
even the most underrepresented or impoverished groups in society, access to the benefits of the
globalization movement would seem to open doors for many groups. Unfortunately, these
perceived desires do not reflect the actual state of the globalization movement. Instead, market
influences directed by a global economy appear to be the driving force behind globalization and
its impetus on education.
As mentioned, public education has typically been seen as a tool to advance the public
good by making use of educational polices imposed by national, state, or local governments and
school boards to insure availability to all (Tierney, 2004). However, globalization is starting to
have a significant impact on educational practices. No longer can the fore mentioned
organizations control the development of educational practices as they once did. The key players
in the spread of globalization: corporations, multinational corporations, transnational
corporations, international governmental organizations, and international non-governmental
organizations, are vastly affecting the future of education. U.S. corporations spend more than
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$40 billion per year on training (Burbules & Torres, 2000) and Giroux(2000) has found that the
profit-oriented educational market accounts for $600 billion in revenue. Compounding the
situation, numerous for profit organizations offer certification for specific skills, private charter
schools are gaining popularity, and numerous businesses are signing deals with schools to
provide supplies, funding, and future job placement in return for future considerations.
So, what is becoming of the face of education, considering the uncertain future ahead for
many high school and college bound students? Education is shifting from a public good to a
private good (Smith,2002). Along with this shift is the premise that educational merit is to be
focused on training with assessment based on testing (Tierney, 2000). The resulting implications
of this approach are that those who succeed deserve to and those who fail deserve to fail as
education reflects business practices of searching out and conquering new markets (Tierney,
2000). This is evident by the high stakes educational testing occurring at the K-12 level fostered
by the No Child Left Behind Act and various state testing mandates that reward achieving
schools and students with scholarships and assistance while penalizing under performing sites
and pupils by the threat of takeover and or the disruption of availability of schooling for the less
proficient. Colleges and universities are also feeling the pinch in terms of many professional
programs being developed and supported by private finances. This has resulted in student
success being measured by the completion of rigorous programs accompanied by certifying
exams to attest to their abilities as predominantly defined by the needs of business.
As for educators, they are also becoming pawns of the game to where exploration,
thought, and investigation are being supplanted by the expectations that teachers become
managers. Curriculum is being developed to managed objectives with educators providing the
skills to pass the tests defined by these objectives (Tierney, 2000). Educators are also being held
accountable for student success (Tierney, 2000), thus the pressure to teach to the test is
heightened since educations new focus is on skill acquisition to succeed rather than developing
democratic, cultural, and analytical aspects of education, values most schools and instructors
pride themselves in. In essence, teachers abilities to freely instruct have become limited to the
point where they are also unfortunately contributing to a state of alienation from what education
has traditionally been thought of (Smith, 2002).
Compounding the issue, this shift in educational direction towards training and the
recurring emphasis on success and failure, is not only being realized by schools, but students
also. In turn, this is creating a sense of inequity in education with students who are able to
succeed, be it through desire, support, or privilege versus those who fail, many of which may
come from limited financial and or supportive backgrounds. And it is this depiction of inequity
that is starting to once again emerge in education that is typical of the globalization movement as
reflected by the following summary by Rivzi and Lingard (2000, as cited in Tierney, 2000). The
global economy has created greater social stratification and more inequality in society. There is
an emergent binary divide between those who are able to enjoy the new cultural goods and
services exchanged in the global market and who are victims of the global economy. Hence
ideas of social justice, availability of non manipulated resources, and educational freedom are
being replaced with marketing perspectives of profit and corporate branding as a focal point of
the curriculum (Smith, 2002).
But, no matter how one views the globalized juggernaut invading the school system, it is
evident that its presence will be a driving force in policy that affects not only teachers, but
students as well. This presence has also changed the student from a participant in the
educational process to a consumer, one looking for schools that can offer them the most desirable
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resources and benefits, even if they arent directly related to acquiring knowledge. And,
unfortunately, as privatization expands to the point where schools resemble industry with their
own marketing brands, the face of education will continue to fall into the hands of market
pressures unless educators can successfully continue the pursuit of the public good over the
private.

Resources
Burbules, N., & Torres, C. A. (2000). Globalization and education: An
introduction. In N.
Burbules & C. A. Torres (Eds.), Globalization and education: Critical perspective. New York:
Routledge. (pp. 1-26).
Cohen, R., & Kennedy, P. (2000). Global Sociology. New York: New York
Press.
Giroux, H. A. (2000). Stealing Innocence. Corporate Culture's War on
Palgrave.
Rivzi, F. (2005). Stat derived from classroom presentation on

University

Children. New York:

September

21, 2005.

Rizvi, F., & Lingard, B. (2000, fall). Globalization and education: complexities and
contingencies. Educational Theory, 50(4), 419-426.
Smith, M. K. (2002). Globalization and the Incorporation of Education. the
encyclopedia
of informal education. Article found at
"http://www.infed.org/biblio/globalization.htm".
Tierney, W. G. (2004, January). Globalization and educational reform:
the challenges ahead. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 3,(1) 5-

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